Thursday, November 29, 2012

Oh what fun!

Eric and I have been using the same decorations (burgundy and gold) for our Christmas tree since we were newlyweds. Last year, we had decided we were going to mix things up and try out a new color scheme. So when ornaments were 75 percent off at the after-Christmas sale, we bought turquoise and silver stuff and put it away until this year.

This does seem to be the year of change, so I guess it's apropos that we have a new Christmas tree. It's amazing, though, how well this tree's color scheme works in the library. To add a pop of color, I wanted to add red so I picked up some poinsettia clusters. I tried to lattice-tie the ribbon, which is experimental and harder than it looked and I'm unsure if I'll do it again next year. I'm kind of proud of my tree, although it's far from perfect. And I love the turquoise, silver and red color scheme!

I added things I had around the house that would enhance the bird ornaments, like the ceramic birdhouse (above), bird nests (see photo just below) and the birdcage and cuckoo clock (see next below).

I'm thinking, though, that I'd really like a taller tree in this room. I'm going to be scouring the stores after Christmas this year for a 12-foot flocked tree.

In the midst of all this Christmas fun, there is my constant dose of imperfection. Because the gas fireplace wasn't working, we had to pull out the old gas insert, which broke the tiles, and then we started retiling with these awesome vintage-looking tiles. But it's a work-in-progress and works-in-progress don't seem to care about things like Christmas seasons. Oh well, at least there's a working fireplace. And after all, I think the fire is more important than the surround. I'm considering buying some garland just to frame the backer board around the insert for this year. I'm still working hard to embrace the perfection amongst the imperfection.

But back to the tree, I'm feeling like the ornaments are a little sparse. Should I add some more brown? I have some brown owls leftover from Thanksgiving and some pinecones. Would that be too much? Or distracting? Or I was thinking snowy owls might be pretty. I suppose the tree is still a work-in-progress as well. I'll try not to let all that get in the way of a perfectly wonderful holiday season.